Since becoming a prolific blogstress I have been exposed to many new delights and fancies the internet has to offer. Recently, my beautiful and talented artiste friend Isabel introduced me to this blog about the strange and enchanting Japanese Monster Trees.
These are REAL trees found in nature! The blog describes them:
"They’re out there lurking in the dark, in the desolate wilderness of winter — the beautiful and eerie offspring of Yuki Onna, the Japanese snow woman spirit. They are the Juhyo, or monster trees. Every winter the trees of Mount Zao in the Yamagata Prefecture undergo a shocking transformation. From mild-mannered conifers, these trees become hulking monstrosities of snow and ice...What makes the trees into monsters is a wintery cocktail of snow and ice shaken and stirred by a blustery freezing Siberian wind. The snow and ice cakes the conifer trees so completely that often the original shape of the tree is so distorted that’s it unrecognizable as such."
Aren't they magical? It reminds me of a candyland forrest, and a LOT of the paintings by the artist William Cotton, whose work I have coveted forever.
Unfortunately, I couldn't get the images to load any bigger, but I highly suggest you check out his website so you can really see the detail in these sublime paintings.
I would REALLY like to be able to show you some of Isabel's work. She is one of the loveliest people I know, incredibly creative, multi talented (she paints, creates textiles, photography, collage, brews magic potions- not really but if anyone I know could, it would be Isabel). And she is a true craftswoman, which is rare in this age of digital everything. Hopefully she will give up the goods soon, but until then I hope you enjoy the Japanese Monster Trees, courtesy of les artiste!
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1 comment:
coolness
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